Iran's Grieving Mothers Not Deterred by Armed Suppression

A year and a half after the mothers of victims of the
presidential election protests in Iran formed the group Grieving Mothers (aka
Mothers of Laleh Park), they are now under growing suppression. Only during last
week several group members and supporters were summoned to Iran's Intelligence
Ministry. And while two member mothers, Akram Zeinali, the mother of Saeed
Zeinali, and Jaleh Mahdavi, the mother of Hesam Tarmasi, were released on bail,
two supporters, Neda Mostaghimi and Hakimeh Shekari, are still held in
detention.

But the question is why the non-violent activities of the
Grieving Mothers are perceived by the government as a security threat? Why some
of the arrested mothers have been pressured to make televised confessions? The
following is an excerpt of an interview that Rooz had with Khadijeh Moghadam, a
member of the Committee of Mothers for Peace and an active member of the
Grieving Mothers.

Rooz: How did the Grieving Mothers come to life as a
group amidst the tumultuous waves of protest to the election results and the
ensuing killings and widespread arrests?

Mrs.
Moghadam: Witnessing our children being arrested or killed on the streets,
some mothers felt the urge to do something. Then the video of Neda's death
touched us deeply as if this tragic event happened to our own children.
Meanwhile news of torture put us on edge to take action. After some discussions
we concluded that we should take a "motherly" action, something non-political
for none of us were political activists of any sort.

Rooz: You initially demanded the release of arrested
protestors and the end to violence? So these were the goals of your call to
action?

Mrs. Moghadam: We asked for the freedom of political
prisoners, the release of all those young men and women who got arrested during
the protests plus the prosecution of the commanders and perpetrators of those
killings. We all witnessed on the streets that our people were not violent;
rather it all came from the police and Basij groups against whom our youth had
to defend themselves somehow. We would go to street protests and while people
were voicing their demands and wanted their votes back we would put ourselves
between the police and demonstrators to urge them not to beat or shoot for these
were our own children. We were constantly trying to have a dialogue with armed
police and even with militia groups. In fact, I like to emphasize that to put a
stop to violence was the main reason for us to form such a group.

Rooz: And within the very first week of your call to
action several mothers were arrested and the suppression started, right?

Yes, they caught twenty mothers in the first week. This
coincided with widespread interest in our activities and despite the arrests,
others wanted to push forward. Our movement did not start by any founding member
and it has moved on through park gatherings, brainstorming, and co-operation
among mothers.